Radishes!

We are up to our ears in radishes...really...no joke. We have three types: daikon or some other obscure Korean variety our friend Peter gave us, the red globe variety that is probably what you're used to finding in the grocery stores and watermelon radishes. I had high hopes for the last type...they're white on the outside and pink on the inside. The greens looked large and healthy but today I noticed they were starting to bolt. Upon pulling them I discovered that they were teeny-tiny. Oh well.

One thing I learned this season is that radish greens are not only edible but also delicious. My friend Peter (the same one who grew the daikons) informed me that in Korea (where his wife is from) many radish varieties are grown for the green and not the root. I'll be! So we've been cooking them up. We had radish green, Oaxacan cheese, blue corn quesadillas the other night...delicious. Some varieties have furry greens that are a little weird raw, so you might as well cook them. I'm going to experiment with a radish green soup tonight...I'll let you know how it goes.

Today though I am going to make a Remoulade, a french condiment that is mayonnaise or tartar sauce like. It can be made with a variety of key ingredients from pickles to curry. The recipe I found is from Marquita Farms. They have a lot of neat radish recipes if you're like me and am drowning in this early season veggie. Check them out at www.marquita.com/recipes/radish/html.

The recipe goes something like this:

Daikon Radish Remoulade

1 lb. daikon

3 tbsp. mustard

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. wine vinegar

1/4 cup minced parsley (I don't have this last thing so may add tarragon or mint...we will see)

Grate daikon. Mix mustard with 3 tbsp. hot water, whisk, add oil slowly, whisk until emulsified, whisk in vinegar and pepper to taste. Stir in daikon and parsley.

PS: Daikons are really high in Vitamin C and low in calories so eat em' up!

Tomorrow Night...

Tomorrow night in our very own downtown Albuquerque at the historic Kimo theater:

"Do Something Reel Film Festival"

Double feature! Keep reading...

When

April 28, 2011

07:00 PM - 08:25 PM

Where

KiMo Theatre

423 Central Ave NW

Albuquerque, NM 87102

505-768-3544

Description

The Vanishing of the Bees (2010) Narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Ellen Page, this cautionary tale reveals the mystery of the disappearing bees, and the links to industrial farming and our attitude toward the natural world. Starring in this real-life drama is a commercial bee farmer who rang the alarm bell when his bee colonies collapsed and his business was decimated.

When

April 28, 2011

09:00 PM - 10:30 PM

Where

KiMo Theatre

423 Central Ave NW

Albuquerque, NM 87102

505-768-3544

Description

Planeat (2010) This visually stunning film tells the story of the scientists, farmers and chefs tackling one of the greatest problems of our age: Western culture's love affair with meat and dairy. Through an extraordinarily personal and mouth-watering culinary journey we discover the wide range of medical and environmental benefits of eating our veggies.

Vegan Mayonnaise & Deviled Eggs

Correction: Veganaise. Yummy not-so-gross mayo sans raw eggs. Curious? I was too. I thought Mayo required the use of eggs to get the fluffy texture. Not so, it is the whipped oils plus the soymilk that give it the fluff. We had been spending a small fortune on Veganaise, the brand, when lo and behold there was a recipe for a vegan mayonnaise on the back of the soymilk container. The container of Edensoy Soy and Rice Blend to be specific. The recipe was so simple that I had to see if it compared to our beloved veganaise. Surprisingly it does. Though I think we could have skipped the addition of mustard and instead opted for a mustard powder. I of course took the leniency of adapting the recipe from the box of soymilk and the one I followed is below.

Vegan Mayonnaise

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil

1/2 cup Soymilk

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Mustard

2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar

Freshly ground Black Pepper

Salt to taste

Recipe makes about a pint.

Though it may also be equally as gross to imagine consuming that much oil, it's not like you're doing it in one sitting. Whip the oils together with the soymilk until creamy, then slowly stir in the vinegar. It will appear to solidify but this is an illusion. Stir in the remaining ingredients and taste. MMMmmm Delicious.

Now you must make something with the vegan mayonnaise right? Well, here's another recipe to satiate that desire.

Deviled Eggs

1/2 dozen eggs

1/4 cup vegan mayo

1 tbsp mustard

dash hot sauce

1/4 tsp salt

Ethiopian spice blend (mostly paprika and cayenne toasted)

Halved green olives

Hard boil the eggs, peel, slice in half, remove yolks, mash with a fork or some other mashing implement, mix and mash with the mayo, mustard, hot sauce and salt. Spoon into the egg halves, sprinkle with the spices and press a half of a green olive on top. Enjoy.

Stay tuned for a post on homemade veggie burgers!

Helpful Hint Numero Uno

Ay yi yi! Only one post in February so far?? Wow. You can really tell when I go back to school. One day, I'll be out of school. And maybe also on that day I will have more time to blog about veggies...maybe. Well in response to my inability to blog consistently about what I'm cooking or interesting books I'm reading, I'm starting a section of helpful hints around your kitchen & beyond. Things I have learned that everyone should know..........................

Helpful Hint #1:

When you buy cheese from the supermarket or wherever, take it out of the cellophane wrap it comes in and re-wrap it in a plastic bag or plastic wrap. It will last much longer without molding.

The above hint is for harder cheeses like cheddar. Follow this link for other helpful hints on cheese storage:

http://www.laurawerlin.com/storingcheese.html

She even takes it one step further by suggesting parchment or wax paper between the cheese and plastic wrap. Probably a great suggestion considering how toxic plastic can be.

Tortilla de Patatas

Or Spanish omelet made with potatoes for those of you unfamiliar with the delicacy. Very simple and very satisfying.

I first had a tortilla de patatas in Spain (of course, what did you expect? I'm cultured.) Rachel, my friend from college, lived in Spain for five years after we graduated. I did no such thing, maybe it's her that's cultured and not me. Anyways, her roommate Karina, was shocked that I had never heard of, much less eaten, the common breakfast food of Spain. Convinced I needed to try it, we set about making one. Hers, though delicious, was a little greasy. Probably because it was the first time she had ever made one. I made sure to avert this problem by recalling her error. I think you should use the same judgement when adding the oil for the potatoes.

The Recipe

1 large potato

3 tbsp. olive oil

1/2-1 large onion (I used yellow & 1/2)

9 eggs*

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

The rest of the ingredients are not required, I was using my leftovers up...you can add anything. It's an omelet. Experiment.

1 large portabello mushroom, sliced

1/2 cup provolone cheese, cubed

*My eggs come from my chickens who just started laying so they are probably a bit smaller than the ones you would find in the store. Start with about 6-7 whipped with cream, pour in at the appropriate time and if it isn't enough to cover, pull from heat, whip a few more and fill in the gaps.

Start by slicing the potatoes thinly, not grated but sliced. I usually half the potato, then halve it the other way and then slice. Saute with sliced onions over a medium flame until the potatoes are soft enough to eat. You are not making hash browns so do not brown.

Whip eggs, cream, salt and pepper.

You want layers with a tortilla de patata, the patatas y cebollas (potatoes and onions) will form the bottom layer so keep this in mind. When the potatoes are done, spread the mushroom and cheese evenly on top to form the next layer. Then pour in the eggs. They will trickle down and create the omelet, no need to coach them.

Cook over a medium-low flame until the top of the omelet is set. Flip onto a wide plate. (You may need to use your spatula around the edge to loosen it. If you use a non-stick pan you should have no problems, however, if you use something else you might. Do your best to get it out whole). The bottom will be browned. This creates a nice chewy texture that unlike normal omelets is desired. Invert and place in pan to cook the other side. With the omelet mostly set you won't have to cook it for very long. This is just to make it almost brown on this side too and to ensure it is completely cooked.

Re-invert onto the same plate. Slice like a pie and enjoy! Serves 4-6.

Entertaining Part Deux, continued...

Ay, yi yi. I thought I was over blogging malfunctions. Sigh. Apparently not. I apologize for the possibly mistaken post of just a title (it won't let me see my blog so who's to know..) and I also apologize for the font. I try to stick to one type but under "edit", as opposed to "compose", you can't change your font. Silly computers and silly computer programmers. Why can't you predict what I want and need? Anyways, enough of my tangent. Wait no, one more apology--I forgot to photograph the event. Woopsie.

The Menu

first course: mixed green salad with a lemon poppy seed agave mustard dressing

second course: french onion soup with asiago and toasted french bread

third course: steamed artichokes with a garlic lemon butter sauce

fourth course: marinated portabello steaks with provolone

fifth course: pumpkin mousse

There was a bit of shuffling about trying to entertain guests whilst cooking but as long as you are committed to making an evening of it there is nothing wrong with slow food. It gives one time to digest, make room and get hungry again. In fact, there is probably something wrong with fast food, but I digress.

Everything was simple to prepare so there really wasn't a whole lot of kitchen time. Really you are just making sure the onions don't burn as they caramelize, making sure not to over steam or under steam the artichokes, and creating fantastic concoctions of dressings and marinades--the rest practically cooks itself.

The Dressing:

It's not so much what's in the salad sometimes but what it wears. My salad was just mixed greens, red leaf lettuce, grated carrot, black apples (a new type, not old), and feta.

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tsp agave

juice of 1/2 lemon

water to thin

The Marinade

Again, always a hit and always similar to previous recipes but yet different. Let's see if I can remember it.

braggs

olive oil

red wine

lemon juice

agave

cock sauce

basil

chives

parsley

water

I really have no clue what the proportions were or if I am missing something. I usually just pour it all in a bowl, mix it around and douse whatever needs to be marinated generously--the recipe is always slightly different. Be bold, experiment. Empowerment is guesswork with confidence. But no, if I had to guess proportions I would say in descending order: 3 tbsp, 3 tbsp, 3 tbsp, 1/2 lemon, 1 tbsp, 2 tsp, dash, dash, dash, 3 tbsp. Place the mushrooms in the pan you will cook them in, gill side up, pour on top, and let them absorb the marinade. When you are ready to cook them (about 20 minutes before serving) turn them gill side down and cook over a medium flame. When the mushrooms just begin to wrinkle on top they are ready.

Do not buy mushrooms from two different stores. This I sadly discovered to my chagrin. The fresher the mushroom the longer the cooking time. Oh well. Watch for the wrinkles, but not too many because you want a consistency that is at once soft, delicate and sliceable but yet not soggy or overcooked. There is a difference.

Recipe for French Onion Soup in another earlier post, and I won't be going over the Artichokes here...next time.

Pumpkin Mousse

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/pumpkinmousse.htm

I got this from another site (shock!!). Address listed above. I followed it almost accurately, but surprisingly it was the only recipe I could find that was vegetarian (shock!!). But really they all call for gelatin, and we know what that is. Uh huh, ground up horses hooves (gross!!). Never eating jello again right?

I also used my homegrown frozen pumpkin. Because it was homegrown, and because I never put it through a blender or food processor it was a little stringy for my taste.

I have never made mousse before (shock!!), but thought that it would be easy. Maybe I whipped the cream a bit too fiercely but it was too airy for the mousse you get in the restaurants. Do you think they're using gelatin? Another thing for further investigation.

Until then I'll leave you with the mousse recipe I followed:

1.5 cups cooked pumpkin

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup turbinado

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

cook over a medium flame for 5 minutes. cool.

add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

whip 2 cups whipping cream, to stiff peaks

fold the two mixes together, chill for at least an hour. Serve cool.

Entertaining Part 2

Again tonight we will be entertaining some guests. I'm thinking a meal of courses...an app., a salad, a soup, a main course and a dessert. Does that make five courses? Regardless, I'm not going to try to stick to what's in my fridge because there's nothing in my fridge. As of now all I know is my friend Tara likes red wine, chocolate mousse, steak (clearly not in this establishment) and sweet potato fries. Not much to go on but I will do my best.